“Making sure all of these employees are safe is one matter, but firms also need to be wary of what upping sticks means for their legal entitlements, according to workplace lawyers,” reports Justin Cash in FN London.

Thousands of staff from UK-headquartered companies are heading for the exit in Russia. From law firms and consultancies to banks and retail brands, a drip has turned into a flood as the international community piles pressure on Vladimir Putin to stop an escalating conflict.”

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“Earlier this year, President Biden announced that all adult Americans would be eligible to get one of the Covid-19 vaccines approved for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the FDA no later than May 1, 2021. Given that vaccines are now widely available, employers are grappling with various issues, including bringing employees back into the workplace,” writes Ellis L. Bennett in Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig’s Blog.

“Various issues associated with employer-imposed vaccine requirements are almost certain to be litigated in courts around the country over the coming months and year, and the results of the litigation may change the landscape. However, the current prevailing view is that employers may impose vaccine requirements upon employees.”

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“As vaccine proliferation continues, employers are preparing to welcome their workforces back to offices and job sites across the country,” write Katharine O. Beattie Sara J. Higgins in Foley & Lardner’s Insights.

“While many Americans are eager to return to pre-pandemic life, employers can expect resistance from employees recalled to the office, particularly from those whose medical conditions put them at greater risk for complications from COVID-19. Reviewing best practices under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, this post provides employers with tips for engaging in an effective interactive process with employees seeking disability accommodations for risks associated with COVID-19.”

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“Global law firm Goodwin announced today the creation of a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) position, and the appointment of Scott Kopcha to the role. As CISO, Kopcha, who previously served as the firm’s Managing Director of Information Security, will oversee all aspects of the firm’s global information security strategy, architecture, governance, and risk mitigation as CISO. He reports to Goodwin’s Chief Operating Officer, Michael Caplan,” announced Goodwin Law in their Press Releases.

“Kopcha brings more than 20 years of information security experience to his CISO role. Before joining Goodwin in 2013, Scott designed and executed best-in-class information and data security programs at WilmerHale. Prior to that, he was a product manager at Janus Associates where he received patents for his work with biometric authentication platforms.”

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“Data privacy attorney Hilary Lane has joined Holland & Knight’s Tampa office as a partner. Ms. Lane was formerly the chief privacy officer for NBCUniversal. She is a member of Holland & Knight’s national Data Strategy, Security & Privacy Team,” posted Holland & Knight in their News.

“Ms. Lane, a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US), has extensive experience helping businesses navigate the privacy and cybersecurity landscape nationally and around the globe. As chief privacy officer for NBCUniversal, she built, implemented and led its global privacy program across diverse operating units and drove strategy throughout the organization. Building on that experience, Ms. Lane takes a strategic and practical approach, working closely with clients to design and implement global data privacy and security programs tailored to their business. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Lane was a partner at Quarles & Brady.”

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“AT&T Inc.’s top lawyer David McAtee made nearly double the compensation in 2020 he did the previous year, due to an equity award infusion,” reports Ruiqi Chen in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“McAtee made over $18.6 million in 2020 as the Dallas-based telecom giant’s general counsel and senior executive vice president, compared to $9.4 million in 2019, according to a Thursday SEC filing.”

“The increase comes from a ‘career retention grant’ in the form of an additional $9 million in stock awards over what he received in 2019, on top of his base salary of $1.3 million. The grant does not vest until 2030.”

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“Novartis AG announced Friday that its global head of litigation, Thomas Kendris, will on an interim basis succeed its outgoing chief legal officer Shannon Thyme Klinger,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law’s Business and Practice.

“Novartis said in a statement that Klinger will depart the Swiss drug giant March 15 to return to the U.S. and take a job at ‘a biotechnology company.’ Novartis didn’t identify the company and declined to discuss Klinger’s new role. Klinger didn’t respond to a request for comment on the matter.”

“Her move is the latest in a series of comings-and-goings by law department leaders working for biotechnology startups, drug developers, and medical equipment manufacturers. The health care, life sciences, and pharmaceutical sectors have been busy hiring lawyers within the past year, in part due to the increased demands on some companies stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.”

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“Two property titans’ real estate development firms, MV Ventures and Turnberry Associates, have picked up a pair of law firm partners to be their top lawyers,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“Eagan, Minn.-based MV Ventures, owned by the family of shopping mall billionaire and Minnesota Vikings owner Zygmunt “Zygi” Wilf, hired Matthew Slaven to be its general counsel as of Feb. 15. Slaven was a real estate, environmental, and construction law partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister in Minneapolis.”

“Turnberry Associates, an Aventura, Fla.-based real estate developer controlled by the family of billionaire Donald Soffer, brought on Julian Chung to serve as its general counsel. Chung was a Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson real estate finance partner in New York.”

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“Wigdor said Friday that Christine Hogan is joining the employment plaintiffs firm as a partner in New York from Littler Mendelson, where she worked defending employers for more than decade,” reports Chinekwu Osakwe in Westlaw Today.

“As a Littler partner, Hogan represented large companies and organizations in individual and class action litigation involving discrimination, harassment and wage and hour claims, with a clientele that has included The American Museum of Natural History, United Parcel Service Inc, Uber Technologies Inc and Walgreens Co.”

“But she said the pandemic gave her a chance to reevaluate her career, and she decided to make a change.”

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“Fired in-house lawyer Paul MacNeal Davis isn’t happy with media reporting on his lawsuit that contends that voting changes resulted in an illegal election,” reports Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal’s Daily News.

“As of Monday, Davis had filed eight documents in his lawsuit, while the defendants had not yet responded, Above the Law points out. One filing getting attention—and ridicule—was a request that the government be placed in stewardship, with a nod to Lord of the Rings.”

“Now, Davis is retreating from that request in a Jan. 25 legal filing, but the pundits haven’t eased up. Nor have his troubles, including overwork, threats and vandalism, he says in the filing.”

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“A Texas-based insurance company fired one of its senior lawyers, the company said Thursday, after the attorney was identified as one of the hundreds of supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump who stormed the U.S. Capitol a day earlier,” reports Caroline Spiezio in Thomson Reuters’ Westlaw Today.

“Goosehead Insurance said in a Thursday morning tweet that associate general counsel Paul MacNeal Davis is “no longer employed” at the company.”

“He joined the Dallas-area company in mid-2020. His profile on the State Bar of Texas website lists a number for law firm Clark Hill. Court records show he also previously worked at Andrews Kurth, since merged to become Hunton Andrews Kurth. Representatives for those firms did not immediately respond to request for comment.”

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“A North Texas lawyer has been fired by his employer after he was seen on video outside the Capitol building along with hundreds of other supporters of President Trump on Wednesday,” reports Domingo Ramirez Jr. in the Forth Worth Star Telegram.

“Social media posts identified the attorney as Paul Davis, who was an associate general counsel and director of human resources at Goosehead Insurance, a company based in Westlake.”

“On Wednesday, Davis posted a video on Instagram saying that he was outside the Capitol building and he had just been tear-gassed.”

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“Amid a flurry of fresh lateral moves among labor and employment lawyers, one of the leading L&E firms is facing a lawsuit tied to hires it made several years ago from an industry group that counts many of its clients as members,” report Arriana McLymore and Sara Merken in Reuters’ Employment.

“Law firms have been grabbing labor and employment lawyers at a fast clip the past several weeks, with hires at Blank Rome, Ogletree Deakins, Dentons and Kaufman, Dolowich & Voluck.”

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“Another day, another Biglaw firm that’s reversing its COVID-19 austerity measures,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“This time, the good news is coming from Taft Law (formerly known as Taft Stettinius & Hollister). If you recall, back in April, the firm decided to reduce partner draws by 25 percent, leaving compensation for staff, associates, and of counsel attorneys intact. At the same time, the firm laid off 1.4 percent of its attorneys and 3.5 percent of its staff. We’ve been told that the firm’s partners received a treat for Halloween instead of a trick, because all of their pay was restored in full in October.”

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Assistant Chief Mark Begley was awarded a $1.84 million lawsuit settlement against the County of Kaua‘i and Kaua‘i Police Department, reports Jason Blasco in The Garden Island.

“Begley was put on paid administrative leave in March 2012 when he filed a stress-based worker’s compensation claim, citing a hostile work environment. He was reinstated in June 2019.”

“In 2016, Begley initiated a federal lawsuit against the county, KPD and several senior officers, claiming that the now-retired KPD Chief Darryl Perry and his successor, former Acting Chief Michael Contrades, harassed and retaliated against him for reporting allegations that another assistant chief acted inappropriately toward a subordinate female officer.”

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“A U.S. District Court judge has ordered New Prime to send letters to 30,000 truck drivers to let them know that a $28 million settlement involving the Springfield, Mo.-based trucking company is legitimate,” report Mark Schremmer in Land Line.

“Earlier this summer, Prime and truck drivers Dominic Oliveira and Rocky Haworth reached a $28 million settlement regarding claims that Prime improperly paid drivers in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, Missouri minimum wage law, and related laws.”

“On Oct. 5, about 40,000 former and current Prime drivers and trainees were notified – an estimated 30,000 of them by email – about the website PrimeTruckingSettlement.com and their potential eligibility to receive funds from the court-approved settlement. According to court documents, on the same day a supervisor at Prime sent a message through the company’s app and Qualcomm system telling its drivers not to click on the link of the email because it was a “phishing” scam. The same supervisor sent a second Qualcomm message about an hour later retracting the previous message.”

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“Good news continues to trickle in for associates who’ve hitched themselves to the right law firms or practices, as more firms either end pandemic pay cuts or pile special bonuses on top of lawyers’ regular earnings,” reports David Thomas in Thomas Reuters Westlaw Today.

“In the case of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, starting Oct. 1 the firm is completely scrapping pay cuts it enacted earlier for associates, of counsel and staff.”

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“Law.com recently published its latest edition of the Global 100, a ranking of the world’s 100 largest law firms by total revenue,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“Overall, the Global 100’s gross revenue grew by 4.7 percent, bringing the collective earnings of these firms up to $119.6 billion. Of course, this is nowhere near the heights reached in 2018, when gross revenue for the Global 100 increased by 8.1 percent, but when Biglaw is up by $5.4 billion, there’s not much room for complaints. The United States continues to dominate the list, and this time around, 50 firms had more than $1 billion in revenue — and the vast majority of those firms are based in the U.S.”

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“Five former Nixon Peabody partners allege that their former law firm tried to punish them for jumping to DLA Piper by trying to claw back bonuses and withholding money in support of the effort,” summarizes Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal’s Law Firms.

“Their mediation petition, filed Tuesday in New York state court, claims that Nixon Peabody’s bonus clawback provision restricts partners from practicing law where they choose. As a result, the provision is unenforceable under New York law, the petition says.”

“The partners resigned from Nixon Peabody in June 2019, the same month their bonuses for fiscal year 2018 were paid in full, the petition says. The partners each were awarded a bonus of $100,000 or more for fiscal year 2018, which ended Jan. 31, 2019. Nixon Peabody did not allow the partners to begin work at their new firm until July 16, 2019, according to the petition.”

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“Some 1,700 employees of a bankrupt coal mining company would get up to $17.3 million in back pay under a proposed class-action settlement,” was reported in The Cheyenne Post.

“The former employees of Milton, West Virginia-based Blackjewel in Wyoming and Appalachia could get checks early next year depending on the outcome of bankruptcy court hearings this fall, said Ned Pillersdorf, an attorney for the employees.”

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